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Saturday, October 30, 2010

All of the thirty-nine blocks are finished for a pastel, and Fig Tree fabric version of Heartfire. I started sewing the connecting triangles on some of the blocks and put them up on my design wall. My design wall consists of an old vinyl tablecloth with a fleece backing. It is quick, easy and inexpensive!

Here are the remaining blocks waiting for their triangles. Once they are finished, I'll be much more precise in block placement on the wall. I can tell by the photo that I have two blocks with green polka dots next to each other. I didn't notice it until I took the picture. That happens so often. You will see block placement issues in a photo easier than you will on the wall or the floor.

Busy weekend ahead. Our three granddaughters are having a sleepover at our house tonight. They are in charge of making a Halloween lunch for the whole family on Sunday. The girls are natural cooks and love being in the kitchen with Grammy.....and I love being in the kitchen with them. Here's the menu our 9-year-old granddaughter put together yesterday with the help of Internet, The Food Network, and Betty Crocker:

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

When the pasta dryer comes out of the closet is means one of two things. We are either making homemade pasta....or it is time to start some strip piecing. Joe's hopes were dashed again when he realized there wouldn't be any pasta in the near future. For those of you new to my blog, you've probably not seen how I organize my strips once they have been cut. This pasta dryer takes up very little room and you can see exactly what fabric choice you have at your fingertips.

My heart started beating a little faster when I heard on the radio how many days there are until Christmas. Time to kick it into high gear and get some projects finished. I had some partial fat quarters left from the Summer Blush quilt, so I decided to cut them up and make another Heartfire quilt.

I can't tell you who I'm making this for, because I have too many family members reading my blog. What I can tell you is the quilt goes together very quickly....thank goodness, and it is not for one of the little grandsons!

The blocks are just as cute as they can be. I love the combination of dots and checks. I also love the soft colors. Gee, I wonder who this is for?

Monday was my first work day back to work at the shop since the end of August. Kathy brought in this quilt that she made for her son. It was one of the shop's Saturday sampler quilts. Now you tell me, which is the front......

....and which is the back? She made a two-sided quilt! He son is an Eagle Scout so she has an eagle on the back above a copy of the constitution. Very creative. The bunny in the bottom corner is for one of the rabbits that he had growing up. This quilt is going off to college as a gift for her son to treasure and know that Mom loves him very much.

Last night I had my drop-in class and Mary brought in two quilt tops to share with the group. These blocks were only six inches with a huge amount of detail. Look at the border on the right that Mary made to frame her quilt.

This block is all hand pieced. Each piece was precisely cut and sewn.

This beauty was also done by Mary. All appliqued AND quilted by hand, by Mary. It is a beauty! Every stitch was so even and precise.....it was amazing.

More inspiration for all to see....and more pictures from creative quilters will be coming soon to a computer near you!﻿

Saturday, October 23, 2010

We are definitely into a new season of the year.....Quilt Show Season. It seems you could attend a show or two every weekend if you had the time. Yesterday, Joe and I went to the Mountain Heirloom Quilt Faire in Murphys at Ironstone Vineyards.

Take a lot and get inspired by some of these beauties. You know you can place your mouse over each picture and click on it so you can see it in greater detail.

Plaid stars.....how cute is that!

This quilt was named 'Christmas in Arnold'. Perfect name for a beautiful quilt.

And look what I found......Sallie's quilt made with a blue border! This is a fun quilt to make.....I highly recommend digging through you stash and pulling out enough fabric and make some scrappy stars.

Time to 'batten down the hatches' for a large storm that is excepted to hit the golden state this weekend.﻿ Lots of rain and wind expected. It sounds to me that if will be perfect weather to stay indoors and quilt. Why not think about entering one of your quilts into a show next Quilt Season? I'm thinking about it.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

I told you in my last post that I was sequestering myself away for the week.....and this is what I've accomplished so far.

Summer's Blush quilt top is done!!! I guess I really should name it Autumn's Blush....what do you think? I haven't finished writing the pattern yet. I love, LOVE to work with polka dots, stripes, plaids and checks. In case you are wondering, the quilt is displayed on an old sled by the wood-burning stove.

There are 48, yes FORTY-EIGHT little hexagon flowers in the setting and corner triangles. They are so adorable! Time consuming but worth every minute and a great little project to work on while watching TV in the evening. I love Fig Tree & Co. fabric. I have been collecting the fabric since A Day in the Country fabric line was released. This quilt contains a little snippet from each of the Joanna's gorgeous fabric lines. The border is from Breakfast at Tiffany's, the newest line.

I brought Sallie's quilt up to the cabin this week. She was finished showing off in the shop. I put﻿ Sallie on the master bed for a pleasant change. One of the rights of passage of wintering in the mountains is flannel sheets and electric blankets, which went on all the beds yesterday. Changing quilts around means washing and ironing dust ruffles too. Sometimes I drive myself crazy when I decide to change things up. Three hours of lost quilting time, I'm finally finished! (Joe made the light out of a snowshoe for me. He can make anything.)

Suddenly I find myself doing Spring cleaning in October! The quilt from the master bedroom came into one of the guest bedrooms.

I'll try to get the new top quilted next week. It is 82" x 82" so it is going to take me a few days to get it done.﻿ It will involve quilting around each one of the little hexagon flowers!

Have a great week. There is a quilt show at Ironstone Winery this weekend. I'm afraid it is going to be a bit rainy here in sunny California.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

We are halfway through the Party in the Garden BOM already. Where does the time go? Is it really the middle of October already?

This month is a simple block. Not too many pieces.....it is time to give you a nice break before we get to month #7.

So many ask me how I come up with designs. We were driving through the town of Tracy, CA when I saw a lamp post that looked something like this. I always have a pad of paper ready for sketching and this drawing came to life in a quilt design.

The Garden Party fabric plays well together. The flower pot is from the Old Primrose Inn fabric line also by Blackbird Designs. It all works.

My Party in the Garden quilt will be on display at a show in Antioch this weekend sponsored by the Delta Quilters Guild. The quilt will be in the Victorian Quilter booth. Gloria's booth offers a wonderful selection of patterns and quilts for you to see and admire. If you stop by, tell Gloria that Lynn sent you!

Have a wonderful week quilting. That's what I'm going to do. I've sequestered myself away at the cabin with nose to the sewing machine and the computer. I have a list of tasks to complete and I'll keep you posted on my progress. I also have to rake pine needles which will make for a happy Zinny romping around outside.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

As promised, here are more pictures from the quilt show extraordinaire beginning with the In Between Stitches booth.

There's my Heartfire quilt in front of Bunny Hill's new Christmas quilt on the left, and the shop's Quilt Sampler Magazine kit on the right. My quilt is in good company!

Melissa and Leslie put the whole booth together.

It was a popular spot!

Does this one look familiar? I finished it just in the nick of time to display on the booth's corner area.

More glorious quilts.

Here's a beauty that was made by one of the shop's customers, and a talented teacher, Laura.

It is incredible.

Some sweet little baskets.

More good quilting ideas.

This was one of the grand prize winners. Again, the pictures don't come close to capturing the real beauty of these masterpieces. The depth of color and detail was breathtaking.

Are you inspired to spend the day quilting? For me it is a day at the pumpkin patch with the twin granddaughters. The 49ers and Raiders are playing against each other AND the Giants are in the baseball playoffs later on today. I've got to get all of my applique lined up so I can work, work, work ﻿instead of just plunking myself down in front of the TV. It's a great day for Bay Area sports and quilting.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Here are some pictures from Pacific International Quilt Festival. I took over 100 pictures of quilts and the quilting of the quilts. I left the show after hours and hours of walking, admiring and yes, I bought a few things from the vendors. The caliber of the quilts and quilting is on such a high level, it made me feel very inspired yet inadequate as a quilter.

There are quilts from around the world. Since my passion is applique, I took a lot of pictures of appliqued quilts....as you will see. Today I've posted just a sampling of my pictures. There were so many people at the show, it made it hard to get a good picture. My friend Kathy and I spent the most time in front of this quilt. The level of detail, the colors, the shadows, the draping of the cloth was just.....I don't have enough adjectives to describe it.

Look at this detail. Can you make only one of these in a lifetime?

One of our customers made this Little Brown Bird quilt. Vilma, you and your quilt are amazing!

They are the tiniest stems I've ever seen.

The colors, and the detail just cannot be captured in a picture.

I have albums of quilt pictures﻿ that I've put together for inspiration and quilting the quilt ideas. I'll post more pictures tomorrow of the In Between Stitches booth and more award winning, truly incredible quilts.

The highlight of the show for me was meeting Crissie for the first time. Crissie has followed my blog since the very beginning. She makes frequent comments and we email each other back and forth. I've added Crissie's blog address under my blogs that inspires section. I admire Crissie's machine quilting! Her work is beautiful and she quilts on a small machine! You really do make nice friends by blogging!

Joe and I are off to watch our twin granddaughters play soccer. It is going to be a glorious day to be outside and soaking up the beautiful Autumn air. I may even do a little quilting today.....which I've not touched for most of the week!